Coin control apparatus



March 1943- w. F. HERSCHEDE ETAL 2,312,836

00 IN CONTROL APPARATUS Filed Nov. 1, 1938 u K iz-" Hf/iam /0 ghrzschede A Ml/iam Mon ruff INVENTOR Patented Mar. 2, 1943 2,312,836COIN CONTROL APPARATUS William Foy Herschede, Forestville, and WilliamN. Woodrufl, Cincinnati,

Ohio, assignors, by

mesne assignments, to international Vehicular Parking, Ltd., Washington,D. 0.,

oi Delaware a corporation Application November 1, 1938, Serial No.238,230

8 Claims.

The present invention relates to a coin control apparatus, such as maybe utilized in various types of coin operated, or coin conditioned,mechanisms adapted for various types of service.

An object of the invention is to provide an improved coin controlapparatus, wherein many of the faults common to such devices areefiectively eliminated.

Another object of the invention is to provide a coin control apparatusof an improved construction for rejecting coins of dimensions other thanis intended to be accommodated, and operating so as to maintain areceptive condition of the apparatus associated with the coin controlapparatus.

Another object is to provide a novel construction in a coin controlapparatus, whereby coins may not be jammed or stuck therein, in suchmanner as to put out of service the machine or mechanism associated withthe coin control apparatus.

Another object is to provide a coin control apparatus, with a novel formof coin shifting well or receiver to ensure perfect alignment of thecoin with the coin passageway, thereby obviating stoppages or otherconditions tending to impair the services rendered thereby.

A further object of the invention is to provide a device of thecharacter stated, and embodying the meritorious features mentioned,which device is simple of construction and inexpensive to manufacture.

A further object is to provide a coin control apparatus which willindicate the use of spurious coins or slugs therein, regardless ofattempts to dislodge such coins or slugs from a position at which theyare visible after having been inserted into the apparatus.

The foregoing and other objects are attained by the means describedherein and disclosed in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is an elevational view of a coin operated mechanism, for examplea parking meter, showing the device of the invention embodied therein.

Fig. 2 is a front elevational view of a coin control apparatus of theinvention.

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the device disclosed in Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a side elevational view taken on line l-l of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 2, showing a stoppage of coins such asmight occur under certain circumstances, and which will not so affectthe improved coin control apparatus as to interiere with continuedoperation of the meter, or

other device to which the device of the present invention is applied.

In Fig. 1 there is illustrated the casing 8 of a parking meter or anyother device to be controlled or operated by the insertion of a coin.The casing is provided with a coin receiving slot 9, which for thepurpose of convenience in description, may be just large enough to admita nickel. It may be assumed throughout this description, that a nickelis a coin of proper dimensions for initiating or controlling theoperation of the parking meter or other piece of equipment, it beingunderstood that coins of other dimensions might be accommodated bymaking a slight alteration in the dimensions of the slot 9 and in thecoin control apparatus itself.

The coin control apparatus, identified generally by the character It),is adapted to be fixed beneath the coin receiving slot 9 in position toaccept the coin placed in the slot. A coin so received will drop intothe apparatus l0 and will be retained behind a window l2 provided in thecasing 8, until such time as another coin is inserted. Upon insertion ofthe second coin, the first coin will drop into a receptacle l3 providedfor the convenience of a collector or service official. Each time that anickel is inserted in the slot 9, it will operate a means for releasinga. previously inserted coin from its position at the window l2.

It is immaterial to the present invention, whether the releasing meansbe of one kind or another, however, a simple arrangement of bell cranklever indicated at M and having a pivotal support I5, wlll perform thedesired function. A com or proper size will elevate the arm lo, causingthe inter or trip end ll to engage a trip arm 18 of the com controlapparatus, 101 releasing of the preceding coin. It should be understoodthat a sing or com smaller than a mckel will not trip the lever l4, andthat a larger one cannot be inserted into slot 9.

If desired, the element l4 may have suitable connections with theoperating mechanism of the parking meter or other device, so as to makethe operation thereof dependent upon movement of element 14. Suitablemeans, not within the purview of the present invention may be employedto prevent tripping of the mechanism without the insertion of any coin.

From the illustration of Fig. 1, it should readily be evident that thereis a possibility of the receptacle l3 being filled with coins, to theextent erly overcoming the possible ill effects of such a condition, allof which will be explained and treated hereinafter.

The coin control apparatus of the invention (see Figs. 2 and 3) maycomprise a front plate I! and a rear plate 20 maintained in spacedparallelism by means of the lower plate spacers 2| and 22, and the upperplate spacers 23 and 24. The plates are spaced apart sumciently toreceive a nickel therebetween. The plates so related provide an uprightcoin chute or passageway 25 with both ends open, these forming a coinentrance port 26 and a delivery port 21, the front plate being cut awayto expose a coin in the chute to view, through window l2 in casing 8. Atopposite sides of the passageway auxiliary exit ports are provided sothat, under certain circumstances, coins may be released from the coinpassageway without passing through the exit port at the lower endthereof. One of the auxiliary exits, indicated by the character 28, islocated between the upper spacer 24 and the lower spacer 22. The otherexit, indicated at 29, is located intermediate the upper spacer 23 andthe lower spacer 2| at the opposite side of the device. The purpose ofthe auxiliary exists is to permit lateral delivery or release of a coinwhich might be dropped into the apparatus while the coin A (see Fig. 2)remains in position behind the window i 2. This would occur if a coin ofdiameter smaller than a nickel were inserted into the slot 9, suchsmaller coin being incapable of tripping the lever l4-l6 to release theprevious coin.

It should be understood that the smaller coin, by failing to trip thelever i4i5, could not be effective for operating the parking meter orother device, nor would it effect release of the retained coin A, inwhich event said smaller coin would merely strike the coin A and rolloil? to one side or the other through one of the auxiliary exits 28 or29. A spurious coin or slug of proper dimensions would operate themechanism, but unless it could be dislodged before reaching the windowI2, it would be in full view and detectable as a fraudulent coin.

In the absence of preventive means, it would be possible to drop aspurious coin or slug into the slot 3 for actuating the control lever|4l5, and then, while the spurious coin is passing the auxiliary exits28 and 29, it would be possible to strike the casing 8 a sharp blow withthe object of throwing the spurious coin laterally through one of theauxiliary exits, in which event the spurious coin would be precludedfrom entering behind the window l2, that is, it would not assume theposition of coin A of Fig. 2. To preclude such treatment, however, oneof theplates which forms the coin passageway, for example plate 28, maybe provided with a pair of wings or extensions 30 and 3!, having attheir outer ends suitable bumpers 32 and 33 adapted to intercept andthrow back, into the passageway, any coin forcibly dislodged from theregular passageway by the action resulting from suddenly Jarring theapparatus in a direction transversely of normal coin travel through thepassageway. The bumpers may be formed, if desired, by merely turning theouter ends of wings 33 and 3| at an angle, so that a coin projectedlaterally will strike the bumpers, and will bounce back into theprovided for prop-,

passageway, where it will show up in the window l2.

The bumpers 32 and 33 preferably are spaced sufllciently from theperipheryof a retained coin A, to permit the release, through anauxiliary exit, of any coin dropped into the passageway while apreceding coin such as A remains in the restrained position. Suchreleased coin, if of a proper size will have actuated the control leverI4'l8 so that the parking meter or other device will have been actuated.Under normal circumstances, the coin would drop into the positionoccupied by coin A of Fig. 2 but in the event of choking up of the coinreceptacle i3, the coin A might possibly remain at the exit of thedevice, even though released by the action of the trip II. It willtherefore be understood that failure of the coin to move from itsposition behind the window l2, will not interfere with proper operationof the parking meter or other coin operated device, although asuccession of coins dropped upon the stuck nickel A will not enter thecoin receptacle 13.

The release for the restricted coin may be in the form of an escapementpawl (see Figs. 2 and 4) said pawl comprising a lower coin supportinglug 34 and an upper coin interceptor lug 35, said lugs being formed atopposite ends of a connectprovide guiding edges 41 and ing piece 35. Theinterceptor 35 may enter and obstruct the coin passageway, through anopening 31 formed in plate 20. A transverse bar 34 carries the piece 36and also a trip arm I 8 extending diagonally therefrom, and has itsopposite ends journaled in suitable bearings as at 38 and 40 (see Fig.3), so that the entire structure 34-35-35-411 may be rocked uponactuation of the trip arm l8 by means of the trip ll of Fig. 1. Fig. 4clearly discloses the construction of the escapement pawl, and disclosesthat supporting lug 34 obstructs the coin passageway while theinterceptor lug 35 is retracted. Upon upward movement of the trip arml8, lug 35 intercepts the passageway, and lug 341s withdrawn to releasethe coin supported normally thereon. A spring or other suitable means 42may be employed to yieldingly maintain the coin supporting lug 34 intheextended position for supporting a coin at the delivery port of the coinpassageway. At the entrance port of the passageway, means are providedfor shifting a coin into proper position for entry thereof into thepassageway. Said means may be referred to as a coin shifting well, andit comprises a pair of arms 43 and 44 extending from the plates whichform the body of the device, as disclosed in Fig. 3. Each of the armshas an upper edge 45 and a lower edge 43 (see Fig. 4), said edgesdiverging from one another so that the lower edges may be in position tocontact the periphery of a coin as the coin travels downwardly into thepassageway.

Between the arcuate arms 43 and 44, the plates I9 and 20 are cut away atan angle to respectively 48 for the coin to slide upon as it gravitateswhile being guided by the edges 46. The guiding edges 41 and 4a ofplates l3 and 20, respectively, are crossed just below the arcuate arms,so as to impart a twist to the coin as it moves downwardly past thearcuate arms. By means of the construction described, the coin may enterthe apparatus ill at right angles to the coin chute or pasageway thereofbut it will be supported through contact with edges 41 and 48 of platesl3 and 20 and the sloping edges 45 of one or both of arms 43 and 44against which it will lean and will be turned by proper in parallelismwith the planes tacle l3 while partly lodged in the passageway,

or in the coin delivery port of the apparatus. It should be noted that acoin so lodged may cover the supporting lug 34 and keep it in adepressed condition, while the interceptor lug 35 is extended toobstruct the coin passageway. A second coin B dropped into theapparatus, might leave through the auxiliary exit 28 or it mightpossibly remain supported upon coin A and spacer 22, as indicated. Ifthe coin B remains within the apparatus as shown, a third coin droppedinto the apparatus will necessarily leave through the auxiliary exit 29,and any subsequent coin will do likewise. To insure necessary that thedistance from interceptor lug 35 to bumper 33 be slightly greater thanthe diameter of a nickel. Also, the distance between said bumper and theupper end of spacer 2| likewise should be slightly in excess of a nickeldiameter. Similarly the distance from the other bumper 32 to the spacer22 should be sufficient to pass a nickel, because if the lower-most coinA were stuck at a slightly higher elevation than indicated in Fig. 5,the coin B would have to leave through the space between 22 and 32. Itshould be noted that the lower plate spacers 2| and 22 may have slantedor tapered upper ends which may be pointed, if desired, so that a coinmay not be balanced thereon and thereby possibly obstruct the auxiliaryexits.

Inasmuch as successive coins may be inserted through the coin slot 9indefinitely, even though there may be a congestion of coins at or belowthe delivery port of the apparatus, that fact obviously will not affectcontinued service of the parking meter or other device, but instead, theuse thereof may proceed until such time as a service employee calls toremove the congestion or make any repairs that might have beenresponsible for the failure of coins to normally leave the coin controlapparatus. As previously stated, it is immaterial to the presentinvention as to what form of means might be employed to start theparking meter or other service mechanism after the coin is inserted intothe coin slot 9, since the present invention relates chiefly to the coincontrol apparatus which receives the coin after it has performed thefunction of starting the parking meter, or whatever type of device thecoin is intended to operate.

The characters 50 indicate suitable mounting studs for the coin controlapparatus, these serving to support the apparatus in operative positionwith respect to the casing 8 and its coin slot 9 as well as with respectto the meter and device whose operation is actuated by the coin beinghandled.

It should readily be understood that obvious changes will adapt thedevice to operate with coins other than nickels, or suitable tokens maybe accommodated, if desired. The fact that a parking meter has beenmentioned herein as an example of a mechanism to beassociated with thecoin control apparatus of this invention, is

such operation, it will be not to be considered a limitation upon themany uses or environments in which said apparatus is applicable.

Various modifications and changes in the structural details of theapparatus may be made, within the scope of the appended claims, withoutdeparting from the spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A coin control apparatus comprising in combination, a front plate anda rear plate arranged in spaced parallelism to accommodate a propercoin, said plates providing a coin passageway open at its ends to form acoin entrance port and a coin delivery port, said passageway being openat its sides to provide a pair of auxiliary exits for coins, means forsuccessively retaining successively inserted coins at the delivery portof the passageway, a pair of wings extending from one of the plates inopposite directions and alongside of the auxiliary exits, and a coin.bumper on each winglocated remotely from each auxiliary exit atsufficient distance therefrom to be normally out of contact by a coinpassing through the passageway but inithe path of movement of a coindisplaced laterally through an auxiliary exit by jarring the apparatustransversely to the normal coin travel while the coin is in motionthrough the coin passageway, said bumpers being spaced, from a coinretained in the delivery port, at a distance sufficient to allow asubsequent coin to pass freely between said retained coin and a bumper.

2. A coin control apparatus comprising in combination, a front plate anda rear plate arranged in spaced parallelism to accommodate a propercoin, said plates providing a coin passageway open at its ends to form acoin entrance port and a coin delivery port, said passageway being openat one of its sides to provide an auxiliary exit for coins, means forsuccessively retaining inserted coins one by one at the delivery port ofthe passageway, a wing extending laterally from one of the platesalongside of the auxiliary exit, and a coin bumper on thewing locatedremotely from the auxiliary exit at sufiicient distance therefrom to benormally out of contact by a coin passing through the passageway but inthe path of movement of a coin forcefully displaced laterally throughthe auxiliary exit by jarring the apparatus transversely to the normalcoin travel while said coin is in motion through the coin passageway,said bumper being sufficiently elevated and spaced from a coin retainedin the delivery port, to permit free passage of a subsequent cointhrough the auxiliary exit between the bumper and the retained coin.

3. A coin control apparatus comprising in com;

bination, a front plate and a rear plate arranged in spaced parallelismto accommodate a proper coin, said plates providing a coin passagewayopen at its ends to form a coin entrance port and a coin delivery port,said passageway being open at one of its sides to provide an auxiliaryexit for coins, means for successively retaining inserted coins one byone at the delivery port of the passageway, a wing extending laterallyfrom one of the plates alongside of the auxiliary exit, and a coinbumper on the wing located remotely from the auxiliary exit atsufllcient distance therefrom to be normally out of contact by a coinpassing through the passageway but in the path of movement of a coinforcefully displaced laterally through the auxiliary exit by jarring theapparatus transversely to the normal coin travel while said coin is inmotion through coin.

vated and spaced from a coin retained in the a delivery port, to permitfree passage of a subsequent coin through the auxiliary exit between thebumper and the retained doin, a sloping abutment at one extremity of theauxiliary exit to cause such subsequent coin to roll either through theauxiliary exit or back into the coin passageway, and a second auxiliaryexit at the opposite side'ot the passageway, for release of any coinsdropped onto a coin held in the passageway by said sloping abutment.

4. A coin control apparatus comprising in combination, a coin chute bodyproviding a coin passageway open at its ends to provide a coin entranceport and a coin delivery port, and means at the entrance port forrotating a coin into parallelism and alignment with the coin passageway,said means comprising a pair of obliquely disposed guides crossing oneanother in spaced parallel planes at opposite sides of the coinpassageway, and a well for reception of the coin at the crossed guides,comprising a pair of oppositely extended curved arms each having asloping lower edge to follow a coin in its descent along the crossedguides of the coin rotating means.

5. Coin control apparatus comprising in combination, a coin chute bodyproviding a. coin passageway open at its ends to provid a coin entranceport and a. coin delivery port and including a straight portion, saidbody including an auxiliary exit intermediate the straight portion ofsaid body for laterally accommodating coins from the passageway inadvance of the delivery port in the event the delivery port is blocked,and a bumper located outsideof the passageway and at suflicient distancefrom the auxiliary exit to be out of contact by a coin passing throughthe same when the delivery port is blocked butin a position to interceptand throw back into the passageway a coin ejected through the auxiliaryexit as by suddenly jarring the apparatus in a direction transversely ofthe normal direction of coin travel through the passageway.

6. Coin control apparatus comprising in combination, a coin chute bodyproviding a coin passageway open at its ends to provide a coin entranceport and a coin delivery port and including a straight portion, saidbody including an auxiliary exit intermediate the straight portion forlaterally directing coins from the passageway in advance of the deliveryport in the event the delivery port is-blocked, and a bumper lo catedoutside and remotely from the auxiliary exit at sumcient distancetherefrom to be out of contact by a coin passing through the auxiliaryexit when the delivery port is blocked but in a position to interceptand throw back into the passageway a coin improperly ejected through theauxiliary exit as by suddenly jarring the apparatus in a directiontransversely of the normal direction of the coin through the passageway;

and means for retaining the coin in a display position in the passagewayat a point beyond the auxiliary exit.

7. In combination, a hollow casing having a coin-receiving slot in oneof its sides and an observation window below the slot, a coin receptaclehoused within the casing at a point below the window, a coin controlapparatus mounted in the casing above the receptacle and between thewindow and the coin-receiving slot and including a coin-actuated member,means associated with the coin control apparatus for successivelyretaining in the window area coins successively inserted in the slot,means actuated by inserted coins for releasing the retained coin, andmeans providing, upon failure of a released coin to move from the windowarea, a passage for a subsequent coin from the coin control apparatus toa location outside of the limits of the coin receptacle, such subsequentcoin however in passing through such coin control apparatus actuatingsaid coin-actuated member.

8. In combination, a casing having a coinreceiving slot therein, andalso having therein a window for displaying an actuating coin; and coincontrol apparatus mounted within the casing adjacent said coin-receivingslot, said coin control apparatus including a coin-actuated member,means for transferring a coin entering the coin slot in a. position atsubstantial right angles to the face of the casing to a position beforesaid window in said casing in a plane substantially parallel to thecasing face, means releasing before said window a previously insertedcoin, and means providing; upon failure of a released coin to removefrom said window, a passage for a subsequent coin from the coin controlapparatus to a location outside of the same, such subsequent coin,however, in passing through such coin control apparatus actuating saidcoin-actuated member.

WILLIAM FOY HERSCHEDE. WILLIAM N. WOODRUFF.

